8vo, 328 pages, clothbacked boards "MIND TOOLS is an original and fascinating look at various aspects of mathematics that is sure to fascinate the nonmathematician. Throughout Rucker has the gift of the apt illustration that makes the most abstruse notion accessible - Isaac Asimov." "Approaching all of mathematics, and everything else, by way of information theory, his latest and most exciting book opens vistas of dazzling beauty - scenes that blend order with chao, reality with fantasy, that startle you with their depths of impenatrable mystery - Martin Gardner." Rucker also won the Philip K. Dick Award for his s-f novel, SOFTWARE; and he is recognized as the founder of cyberpunk sci-fi.

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Bibliographic Details

Title

Mind Tools: The Five Levels of Mathematical Reality

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin

Publication Date

1987

Language

English

ISBN 10

0395383153

ISBN 13

9780395383155

Binding

Hardcover

Edition

First printing.

Condition

As New

Dust Jacket Condition

as new

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About this title

Synopsis

From mathematics and computers to insights into the workings of the human mind, Mind Tools is a reflection of the latest intelligence from the frontiers of mathematical thought. Illuminated by more than 100 drawings, Mind Tools connects mathematics to the world around us. It reveals that the great power of mathematics comes from the fact that it serves as an alternative language for understanding things -- from one's hand to the size of infinity. Exploring such concepts as digital versus analog processes, logic as a computing tool, and communication as information transmission, Rudy Rucker presents the "mind tools" for a postmodern age.

Reviews

Number, space, logic, infinitythese basic patterns seem to reflect essential features of our minds and of the world around us. By analyzing each of these building blocks from the standpoint of information (reduction of uncertainty), Rucker takes the uninitiated reader deep inside the world of modern mathematics. He moves from patterns in bathroom tiles to cellular automata or machines that can reproduce themselves. Sections cover the new science of fractals (fragmented, real-world shapes) and catastrophe theory, which deals with abrupt change. Mathematician David Hilbert's futile search for an all-encompassing mathematical system leads Rucker to navigate the shoals of symbolic logic, Godel's Incompleteness Theorem and Turing machines. The author's previous books include Infinity and the Mind and Software, science fiction about artificial intelligence.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

There have been many books written about mathematics for the nonmathematician. This one focuses on the most recent areas of mathematical research that are most closely related to the areas of computer science and artificial intelligence. Among the topics treated are fractals, logic, complexity, computability, and information theory. The subtlety of these fields requires the reader to bring a fairly solid background to the book. Rucker makes a good try at making these ideas simple and intuitive but some sections remain conceptually very difficult. On balance, this is a good book about modern mathematics for the informed reader willing to put in some mental effort. Harold D. Shane, Mathematics Dept., Baruch Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Joyce And Company, established 1975, works out of an office near Chicago's Loop. There are usually 15-20,000 books on-site and available for browsing. Mr. Joyce was a founding partner of the former Chicago Rare Book Center, of Chicago and Evanston, Illinois. Proprietor Tom Joyce appeared regularly as the book appraiser on "The Appraisal Fair", seen on Home And Garden Television, HGTV. We still do appraisals on a wide variety of subjects, from literature to history, fine books, children's, presses, theology, law, medicine, maps, autographs. These topics are reflected in our inventory, and much more, including Sherlockiana. In addition to regional institutions nearby Chicago and Illinois, we have been able to place rare materials with the American Antiquarian Society, The Library of Congress, The Bodleian Library, Harvard and Yale Universities, the Presidential Libraries of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, et cetera.

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